Ice storm increases threat from invasive beetle

12/26/08 6:34AM
Nancy Cohen

(Host)
Since an invasive beetle was first discovered burrowing in maple trees this
summer in Worcester, Massachusetts government scientists have been trying
to figure out the extent of the infestation.

The
U.S. Department of Agriculture says if the Asian Long Horned Beetle isn't
eliminated it could spread throughout New England, New York and even Canada.

As
part of a collaboration with Northeast stations, Nancy Cohen from WNPR in Hartford reports.

(Cohen)
They say lightning doesn't strike twice. But In 1953 a tornado ripped down
trees in a neighborhood on the north side of Worcester. Now this same neighborhood is ground
zero for a destructive insect native to Asia.

Clint
McFarland of the U.S. Department of Agriculture says the Asian Long Horned
Beetle eats out the hearts of trees.

(McFarland) Once the trees are infested
they're going to die. They're going to fall on their own. Its just matter of
time."

(Cohen) Not only does this insect spread from tree to tree. It can also catch a
ride on firewood and tree branches. The beetle probably arrived here in
wood-packing materials from Asia. The USDA is restricting the removal of
wood from a 63 square mile area. McFarland says if the beetle isn't stopped it
could attack the entire northeast forest.

(McFarland) From the Adirondacks
to the Catskills in N.Y., all the way up through Maine
and if you go up through Canada
you're looking at the same thing. All the way up to the Arctic
so were looking at a massive amount of trees.

(Cohen)
State and federal workers have formed a kind of arboreal triage team, Their
mission is to figure out which trees can be saved. The project could cost as
much as 35 million dollars in this first year alone. Clint McFarland says the
work starts on the ground

(McFarland ) Tree by tree
by tree. We are estimating about 635 thousand host trees that we need to look
at. Certainly a very daunting undertaking and we will survey every single one
of these trees and on multiple occasions to make sure that we have eliminated
every last beetle here in Worcester.

(Cargulian) Its a 25 inch Red. Red Maple.

(Cohen)
Massachusetts forester Leon Caragulian is part of the
ground survey team. They're looking for dimpled depressions in the bark, where
the female beetles lay their eggs. And for holes where the adults emerge. But
sometimes its hard to see from the ground.

In
a patch of woods a group of five men, supported by ropes and harnesses, are
climbing into the tippity tops of trees to get a good look at immature
branches. The beetles prefer the tender bark.

(Freidrichs) its this one
right here.

Kai Friedrichs, a kind of real-life Spiderman, is suspended horizontally
between two trees in the air. He just found an egg site.

(Friedrichs)Its this spar that's leaning the furthest away from us here on the
right up towards the top. There's where I found it.

(Cohen) Friedrichs and his colleagues are U-S Forest Service smokejumpers.
Their main job is putting out forest fires. But since 1996 when the Asian Long
Horned Beetle first appeared in North America in Brooklyn,
New York, they've developed a kind of
sideline-stopping the beetle from spreading. 41 year old Rico Gonzales, who has
climbed trees looking for the beetle in New York, New Jersey and Chicago says Worcester is the worst infestation hes seen.

(Gonzales ) "We'd go weeks without
finding it back in NY and its here every other day you're finding at least one
or two."

(Cohen) That may not sound like much. But so far the government has confirmed
nearly 6000 infested trees that will be cut down this winter. Many residents,
like Cathy King who has a maple in front of her house, understands that losing
these trees will save others.

(King) I was devastated
because this neighborhood is made beautiful because of the trees in it... Its a
shame, but... it has to be done."

(Host)
In addition to cutting down infested trees the USDA wants to cut down any
species of tree that the beetle prefers, including maples, birches, and
willows. Even if they aren't infested yet. That adds up to 21,000 trees.

In the meantime, a recent ice storm brought a new challenge. How to prevent the
hundreds of thousands of broken tree limbs, and any beetles that may be in
them, from being moved outside the
quarantined area.

For
VPR News, I'm Nancy Cohen

(Host
Outro) Our environmental coverage is part of NPR's Local News Initiative.